Muffler adapted to purify the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines

ABSTRACT

A MUFFLER WHICH SILENCES AND PURIFIES EXHAUST GASES AND IS ADAPTED TO BE ASSEMBLED AND EASILY DISMANTLED FOR CLEANING WITHOUT REMOVING THE OUTER SHELL, THE MUFFLER COMPRISING A TUBULAR ELONGATED SHELL HAVING STRAIGHT SIDES, INLET AND OUTLET AND COVERS FOR THE OPEN ENDS, LONGITUDINAL BOLTS WHICH PRESS THE ACTIVE PURIFYING MEANS IN PROPER POSITION WITHIN THE SHELL, THE BOLTS BEING TREADED AT THE ENDS PASSING THROUGH THE COVERS, THE TREADED ENDS ENGAGING NUTS AND THE PURIFYING MEANS INCLUDING POROUS PACKING ELEMENTS WITHIN THE SHELL WHICH ARE ALSO RETAINED WITHIN PAIRS OF PERFORATED PARTITIONS BY THE BOLTS. THE END NUTS, WHEN LOOSENED, OPEN THE COVERS AND PERFORATED PARTITIONS TO PERMIT REPLACEMENT AND/OR CLEANING OF THE PACKING ELEMENTS. THE PURIFYING MEANS INCLUDES MEANS WHICH DESTROY THE CARBON MONOXIDE. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PERFORATED COVERS, THE PACKING ELEMENTS AND THE SHELL IS SUCH AS TO PROVIDE A CHAMBER THROUGH WHICH THE EXHAUST GASES PASS AND A FILTER SECTION THROUGH WHICH ALL OF THE EXHAUST GASES FLOW.

J. EPELMAN Jan. 19,1971 7 7 3,556,735

MUFFLER ADAPTED 'ro PURIFY THE EXHAUST GASES OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed June 25, 1967 INVENTOR JACOBO EPELMAN BY fl' ATTO United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A muffler which silences and purifies exhaust gases and is. adapted to be assembled and easily dismantled for cleaning without removing the outer shell, the muffier comprising a tubular elongated shell having straight sides, inlet and outlet and covers for the open ends, longitudinal bolts which press the active purifying means in proper position within the shell, the bolts being threaded at the ends passing through the covers, the threaded ends engaging nuts and the purifying means including porous packing elements within the shell which are also retained 'within pairs of perforated partitions by the bolts. The end nuts, when loosened, open the covers and perforated partitions to permit replacement and/or cleaning of the packingelements. .The purifying means includes means which destroy. the carbon monoxide. The relationship between the perforated covers, the packing elements and the shell is such as to provide a chamber through which the exhaust gases pass and, a filter section through which all of the exhaust gases flow.

The invention relates generally to mufflers, such as are generally used in connection with internal combustion engines, in order to reduce the noise of the exhaust, and it refers particularly to such mufilers as are used on vehicles and the like.

' Various types of mufillers are known, which provide a more or less uniform flow of the exhaust gases by throttling their pathby means of baffles, partitions with holes in them, pits filled with stones, and the like.

All of the known mufflers have some disadvantage or other. So, those provided with partitions or baffles often become clogged with soot or dirt deposited by the exhaust gases impinging against their partitions or baffies, and must be cleaned at more or less frequent intervals. However, such mufilers must be completely dismantled, in order to clean them, since the partitions and bafiles are, generally, integral with the outer shell of the mufiler, and access to the interior cavities remaining between same is diflicult and incomplete.

Another disadvantage of known mufflers is that they do not fully retain the soot carried by-the exhaust gases, so thatthe escaping gases, even when fully silenced, still carry. a great quantity of soot with them.

Escaping exhaust gases carry, moreover, a greater or less, but always substantial quantity of .carbon monoxide, due to the always incomplete combustion which takes place in the interior of the'cylinders of common combustion engines.

OBJECT OF. THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a muffler which be free of the above mentioned disadbreathing them.

Patented Jan. 19, 1971 vantages of known mufiiers; which may be cleaned in an easy and rapid operation; which retain a possibly great amount of the soot carried by the gases; and which destroy at least a part of the monoxide of carbon carried by same. It is understood that a muffier according to the invention may carry out one or other of said operations only, or it may accomplish any two thereof, or all of them, either separately or jointly.

According to the invention the mufller consists of a hollow, or generally elongated shell, closed by a pair of end covers, provided with inlet and outlet openings for the exhaust gases and compressed against one another and against the end faces of the shell by means of bolts and nuts. Such bolts carry, moreover, all of the internal parts of the mufiler, which serve to one or more of the various purposes of the muffler, such as silencing the flow of gases, and purifying them from dust, soot, other impurities, and carbon monoxide.

Such silencing means are, mainly, perforated partitions distributed along the shell and inside thereof, as well as a restricted outlet opening. Dust and soot retaining means are, mainly, porous packings, such as of steel Wool,

pumice, and the like, preferably contained between neighbouring perforated partitions in the interior of the muffler. Carbon monoxide destroying means are, e.g., oxidation catalysts provided inside of special chambers of the interior of the mufiler, through which the exhaust gases must pass. All of these purifying means, including steel wool, pumice and catalyst, are carried by the interior frame of the muffler, which may be simply formed by the bolts compressing the end covers against each other,

or may be a structural frame provided with studs, or holes for bolts, 'for holding the end covers against the front ends of the shell. The inlet and outlet ports for the exhaust gases may be made either in the shell, or in the" covers thereof.

The main advantages of the mufller according to the invention, as against the known constructions, are the following:

First, the opening and cleaning operation is very simple and quick. To this effect, it suffices that the nuts be reshell, for cleaning and changing the porous material, as

well as the catalyst, or whichever thereof is present.

Second, the interior of the mufller provides ample spaces wherein the exhaust gases may collect and loose their excessive speed, so as to exit from the mufiler in a smooth and steady flow so that the silencing effectmay be very effective, while the back pressure built up by the without various partitions may be made relatively low,

losing efficiency, in terms of silencing power.

Third, the porous packings provided betweenperforated partitions very eifectively'retain dust, soot, andother A solid impurities carried by the gases, so that these exit from the silencer in a relatively very 'clean state.

Fourth, the carbon monoxide oxidizing catalysten= closed inside of the special chambersprovided 'to this" effect burns a substantial portion of the monoxide carried by the incoming exhaust gases to carbon dioxide, and so highly harmless to people" renders the exhaust gases In carrying out the invention, a muflier for purifying the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines comprises, in combination, a substantially straight, elongated shell, a pair of end covers for said shell, an inlet opening for said gases, an outlet opening for same, a set of bolts adapted to engage suitable holes of said covers, a set of nuts screwed on said bolts and adapted to press them against the opposite ends of said shell, and means, carried by said bolts and adapted to purify said exhaust gases flowing through same; the main characteristic feature of the invention being the rigid fastening of means adapted to purify the exhaust gases to said bolts or tie rods, thus forming a unit easy to handle and which may be quickly removed from the shell as a whole, cleaned, replenished, and reintroduced into the shell, which is then shut closed by its covers, the nuts screwed upon the bolts, and the muffler is ready to use again. According to preferred embodiments of the invention, said means carried by said bolts comprise means adapted to occupy the whole section of the inner space of said shell and to filter said exhaust gases when passing through them; or .they comprise means adapted to eliminate carbon monoxide from such gases; or both.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, said means adapted to filter the exhaust gases comprise a number of perforated partitions, arranged in pairs along said shell and fixed to said bolts, having a perimeter substantially equal to the inner cross-sectional limit of said shell, and each pair defining a cavity containing a porous packing, such as steel wool, pumice, or the like, adapted to catch impurities carried by said exhaust gases; a preferred embodiment of the invention, also, may comprise a number of diaphragms arranged along said shell and fixed to said bolts, having a perimeter substantially of the same shape and size as the inner cross section of the wall of said shell, and being each provided with a chamber adapted to contain a catalyst, such as a carbon monoxide oxidation catalyst, and fitted with openings for the passage of said exhaust gases. According to various possible embodiments of the invention, the shell may have a circular, or a square, or a rectangular, or polygonal perimeter, or a perimeter of any preferred form; the inlet and outlet openings for the exhaust gases may be provided either on the shell, or on the covers thereof; the inner partitions and diaphragms, chambers, etc. may be fastened directly upon the bolts, or there may be an inner frame carrying partitions, diaphragms, chambers, and bolts or studs, or any other suitable connection means. The chambers, too, may extend themselves across only a part, or across the whole of the width or diameter of the shell, such as may do the filtering cavities containing steel Wool or the like.

The invention will be better disclosed with reference to the attached drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inner organs thereof.

With reference to the drawing, the muffler shown in FIGS, 1 and 2 comprises a cylindrical shell 1 provided with,.covers, 2, 2" adapted to close both ends, being drawn onea'gainst, the other by a pair of bolts 3 and two sets of nuts 3' and 3" and carrying the inlet and outlet openings for the exhaust gases 12', 12". Bolts 3 carry a number of transverse partitions 4, 4" arranged in pairs, fixed to the bolts by means of solder, or nuts, or by any other suitable means, provided with perforations 11", 11 extending over the whole of their face; each pair of partitions '4', 4" enclosing or defining a cavity 5, 5 which is'filled with a porous packing which is a dirt-absorbin mass, such as steel wool, 6', 6", which also acts as sound-absorber. On the outside of such partitio'n' pairs4, 4", ,free spaces 7 remain, which act as sound-silencing capacities.

Also fixed to bolts 3 by similar, adequate means, are a number of partitions or diaphragms 8', 8" carry-i ing chambers 9', 9" alyst 10 may be charged, adapted to assist in the combustion of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide. Between such partitions or diaphragms, too, silencing capacities 7 may be provided.

Working of this mufller is very simple: in both FIGS. 1 and 2 the path of gases is shown by arrows: the gases enter from the left, pass partitions 4', 4 and steel wool 6', 6", holes 11', 11" and catalyst 10, 10", and go out through the right opening, after having left on 6', 6" their dust, dirt, and soot, and having burned their CO on 10',

10 to CO and having been silenced-in 7. 1

the whole internal organs 3 to 10 out of shell '1; after,

loosening nuts 3", the internal organs'remain free' as shown in FIG. 2, and may be cleaned, while steel wool 6', 6" and catalyst 10, 10" are changed. Byreversing the extracting operation, the mufiler is put into working order inavery short time. 1

Having now described a specific'embodiment'of the invention, it must be warned that they are to be considered merely as examples, that many more are possible within the invention, and that various omissions, substitutions and changes may be made by those'skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention, the latter being intended to cover all possible embodiments, uses, modifications and adaptations falling fairly While mufilers for silencing the exhaust and purifying and the limits of the the exhaust gases are already known, and are provided with inner cavities and restricted passages, outer and inner shells, especially of elongated, cylindrical shape, end covers, tying elements, such as rods and bolts, inlet and outlet openings and exhaust pipes, perforated drums, channels, tubes, baflles, screens, strips, vanes, capsules and partitions lying outside and inside of shells, filtering means, such as gauze screens, porous packings, such as shredded metals, steel wool, asbestos, magnesite, pumice and the like, carbon monoxide destroying means, such as oxidizers, catalyst, and other chemical agents; it should be clear that the present invention does not claim such a mufiler broadly, but it only claims:

1. In a mufiier adapted to purify the exhaust gases, including carbon monoxide, of internal combustion engines which can be cleaned without dismantling all of the component parts thereof, the combination of:

(a) an elongated continuous tubular shell which is open-ended;

(b) end covers for the ends of said shell, each cover having a central passageway through which exhaust gases are channeled in or out of said shell;

(0) longitudinal bolts extending within the length of said shell having threaded ends, the bolts passing through said end covers and being fitted with nuts at the threaded ends projecting beyond the covers to press said covers against said shell, the loosening of the nuts permitting the disassembly and removal of a packing positioned within the shell;

(d) perforated partitions in said shell disposed in transverse relation to said shell removably mounted in pairs on said bolts, said partitions being adapted to slide on said bolts for removal therefrom and spanning the tubular section of said shell to. enclose I a cavity between each pair and a separated free space between adjacent pairs, the cavity adapted to conto and carried by said bolts defining a chamber which respectively, into which a catis adapted to contain catalytic means to eliminate carbon monoxide in said exhaust gases.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Kreis 181-63 Sames 181--69X Miller 181--69X Bisplinghoflf 181-630X Herdle 23288.3FUX Cornelier 23-.288.3FUX Holt et a1. 23--288.3FUX

Court 23---288.3FUX

6 2,880,079 3/1959 Cornelius 23-288.3FUX 3,025,133 3/1962 Robinson et a1. 23'288.3FUX 3,290,876 12/1966 Ernst 6029 FOREIGN PATENTS 338,933 11/1930 Great Britain 181-63 MORRIS O. WOLK, Primary Examiner B. S. RICHMAN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

